3Com-Huawei products await govt. approval of JV

US-based enterprise networks products and solutions provider 3Com (Nasdaq: COMS) awaits approval by the Chinese and US governments for its proposed JV with Chinese solutions developer Huawei, before elaborating the venture's product development schedule, the company told BNamericas. "The JV will be a critical piece in our global initiative allowing 3Com to have a pure play in the enterprise sector," 3Com's Americas region sales VP Dave Smith said, adding "The JV will bring a set of products that we do not have at present, a complete complement to our stackable edge products." "It's an important step in helping us achieve a cost structure that will make sense for our customers, partners and for us internally. This is especially relevant in Latin America where price sensitivity is a key part of decision-making." 3Com's business in Latin America will also benefit from consolidation of a segmentation approach, whereby independent sales teams will focus separately on sectors such as banking, healthcare, education and government. "The segmentation strategy is really paying off, with clients like Bradesco, Audi and Mercedes Benz in Brazil, or Mexico's largest public university UNAM, which is using our voice solution," Smith said. Smith highlighted the company's attitude to R&D investment, which totaled US$27mn for 3Com's fiscal 4Q03 just ended, equating to 15% of the company's US$175mn revenues. "Our R&D efforts will without question continue, to drive revenue and growth, as well as achieving cost reduction in all products so we can continue expanding margins." One such product is a Wi-Fi solution in the 802.11g standard, which operates in the 802.11b band but with the 54bps top speed for which the 802.11a standard is known. We are one of the first vendors marketing "g-flavored" products anywhere in the world, he said.